Jarlshof Shetland

It was my friend who said we have to go and see Jarlshof, I said it was just a pile of old stone, but she protested and I relented. A history of Bronze Age and Viking peoples emerged in front of our eyes. Sir Walter Scott wrote about Jarlshof in one of his novels. Talking to a local man passionate about the past, he said, "This is how we might have to live in a post industrial era". All that fresh air and working with the elements of nature might not be a bad thing I thought as we drove away in the new Renault.

Jarlshof - One

Occupation covering some 4,200 years

Jarlshof - Two

A life based on farming and fishing

Jarlshof - Three

There is evidence of a bronze smithy around 800 BC

Jarlshof - Four

Earlier settlers to the site came from the southern part of Norway

Jarlshof - Five

Norse settlement at Jarlshof spanned over 400 years

Jarlshof - Six

The name Jarlshof comes from Sir Walter Scott, who visited the site and later used it in the opening scene of his novel, The Pirate.

Jarlshof - Seven

The archaeological remains at Jarlshof were first discovered in the late 19th century after storm damage to the shore revealed a number of massive stone walls

Jarlshof - Eight

There was a large defended broch and courtyard, which doubtless survived into the Viking age.

Jarlshof - Broch

A Broch is a tall wide tower used as a store, a home, a refuge from marauding raiders

Jarlshof - Nine

The first traditional type farming is seems to have started in the 9th century,

Jarlshof - Ten

Jarlshof is situated at Sumburgh on the very southern tip of the Shetland Islands

Jarlshof - Eleven

Bone and antler were used to make the tools and decorations of everyday life. Dress-pins, hair combs, toggles, needle-cases, handles for iron knives

Jarlshof - Twelve

Jarlshof has shown that the Vikings not just as raiders and pillagers, but also as settlers, farmers and fishermen.

Rate this Page out of 5

(5=high 1=low)

1 2 3 4 5